Water-closet-flushing mechanism



A. R. GILMORE WATER CLOSET FLUSHING MECHANISM Filed Feb 14. 1925 E'HI AVA tum? A. 1?. 6;. man:

c'mr A TTOIP/YEKS Patented Ben. 22, R525.

UNITED STATES ALLEN It. GILMORE, OF ELKI-IART, INDIANA.

WATER-CLOSET-FLUSHING MECHANISM.

Application filed February To (4% whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLEN R. GILMORE, a citizen of the United States of America, a resident of Elkhart, in the county of Elkhart and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WVater-Closet-Flushing Mechanisms, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to mechanisms for flushing water closets, and more particularly stated the invention pertains to means associated with a valve of a flushing mechanism whereby said valve is automatically held from returning to its closed position when it is unseated until all of the water has been discharged from within the flushing tank at which time the valve is caused to automatically return to its seat.

The invention disclosed in the present application is an improvement on the device disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 1,103,550 granted to Samuel J. Stevens, the entire right, title and interest in and to which was conveyed to me by an assignment duly recorded in the United States Patent Office. In the patent mentioned the element for supporting the valve was located within the outlet conductor of the flushing tank and it was found that the presence'of this supporting element tended to interfere with the, free passage of water through said outlet conductor. In the mechanism disclosed in the present application the element which supports the valve is located some distance above the discharge out-let of the flushing tank whereby the objection recited above is eliminated.

In addition to the foregoing the mechanism disclosed herein includes details of construction which are not included in the mechanism disclosed in the patent above mentioned which details of construction aid in causing the present mechanism to function in a much more eflicient manner than did the mechanism disclosed in the prior patent.

Fig. I is a side elevation of a flushing tank provided with my improved flushing mechanism, a portion of the wall of said tank being broken away to show my improved flushing mechanism in place within said tank.

Fig. II is an enlarged vertical section of a fragment of the lower portion of a flush- 14, 1925. Serial NO. 9,092.

ing tank showing my improved flushing mechanism associated therewith.

Fig. III is a cross section on line IIIIII of Fig. II.

In the drawing, A designates a flushing tank having an outlet or discharge conductor B which is arranged in communication with the water closet with which the flushing tank is associated. The discharge conductor B is provided at its upper end within the tank A with a valve seat C and has associated with it an overflow pipe D. The parts just described are well known and are found in many flushing tanks and they will there-- fore not be described further.

- 1 designates a support which is adapted to be clamped to the overflow pipe D, said support comprising a pair of oppositely disposed curved clamping members 2 which are adapted to be drawn together by screws 3. Extended outwardly from one of the clamping members 2 is a member 4 having an irregular face, said irregularity being caused by corrugations or teeth 5 which are formed on said face. 6 designates a member having a portion 7 similar to the member 2 just described, said portion 7 being provided with a corrugated or toothed face similar to the corrugated or toothed face of said member 2. The outer portion of the member 6 is bifurcated as indicated by the reference character 8 and the portion 7 of said member 6 is provided with a slot 9 formed therethrough. Extended through an opening in the member 4 and through the slot 9 is a bolt 9 having a head at one of its ends and a nut at its other end. The nut on the bolt 9 is, of course, capable of being moved toward and away from the head of the bolt, and it is apparent that the member 4 and the portion 7 may be drawn tightly together when said nut is screwed inwardly on said bolt, so that the corrugated or toothed faces on said oppositely disposed elements will be forced together.

It is plain from the foregoing that the support 1 may be adjusted vertically on the overflow pipe D and also that the member 6 may be adjusted horizontally to permit the bifurcated portion 8 of said, member 6 to be located at various points relative to said overflow pipe. This latter adjustment is important for the reason that the distance between the center of the discharge conductor and the overflow conductor is not always the same in different flushing tanks and this adjustment will permit the bifurcated portion 8 of the member 6 to be properly positioned for various flushing tanks.

10 designates a valve adapted to seat upon the valve seat C of the discharge conductor B to close said discharge conductor as seen in Fig. 11. The valve is preferably in the form of a semi-circular member of solid rubber and has a fiat stem 11 extended upwardly therefrom. By referring to Fig. H it will be seen that the stem 11 is provided with a disk portion 12, which is arranged adjacent to the top face of the valve 9, and that said stem is also provided with a reduced portion 13 which passes through said valve and is provided with a nut at its lower end which retains said valve on said reduced portion. The valve 10 is supported by the support 1, the stem 11 associated with said valve being arranged between the legs or" the bifurcated portion 8 of the member (3 and a bolt 8 being passed through openings in said legs of said bifurcated portion and through an elongated slot 14L formed in the flat stem 11. It is apparent from this that the stem 11 and the valve 10 are capable of moving relative to the support 1 and the means for effecting this movement will now be described.

15 designates a lift rod which is arranged vertically within the tank A, said lift rod being provided with a laterally extended lower end. portion extended through the slot 1a in the stem 11, and said laterally extended lower end portion is provided with an eye 16 adapted to prevent the accidental displacement of said lower end portion from said slot. The lift rod 15 has associated with it any suitable operating mechanism by means of which said lift rod may be elevated. from the outside of the tank A, but as these mechanisms are well known I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate same.

The stem 11 is provided with a shoulder 1'? which is adapted to engage the top face of the portion 8 of the bifurcated. portion of the member (3 when the valve is in the position in which it is shown in Fig. l, and said valve has a float 18 associated with it. said float being connected to said valve by the rod 1.9.

In the practical use of my flushing mechanism, the operation is as follows: When the valve 10 is lifted from its seat to open the discharge conductor B, the stem 11 is moved upwardly relative to the support 1 until the shoulder 17 is located above the top face of the portion 8 of the member 6 forming a part of said support. The float 18 by its tendency to rise in the tank A acts to tilt the valve and its stem into the position illustrated in Fig. I, and as a result the shoulder 17 immediately engages said top face of said portion 8 as shown in Fig. 1, whereby said support is caused tosustain the valve in itS elevated position the tank. Upon mg the level of pending the emptying of the escaping water reachthe float 18 and passing therebeneath the float is permitted to descend; and in its downward movement, acts to return the valve and the stem 11 to an upright position, so that the shoulder 17 is disengaged from the portion 8 After the shoulder 1'? has been disengaged as described the valve readily resumes its normal position upon the valve seat C of the discharge conductor B through which the water which "as in the tank has escaped.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the valve 18 is automatically adjusted into position to be upheld from its seat, due to the rise of the float 18 in the water in the tank A when the valve is first lifted, and that the return of the valve to its normal position is automatically accomplished by the falling of said float, due to the escape of water from the tank.

The flushing mechanism disclosed in the present application is especially valuable in making repairs to flushing tanks already in use, the valve mechanism of which has become defective. In this case all that need be done is to remove the old valve and arrange one of my improved mechanisms in place within the tank by merely clamping the support 1 to the overflow pipe D of the flushing tank, after which the lift rod 15 is connected to the mechanism by which it is operated.

I claim:

1. The combination with a flush tank having an outlet provided with a valve seat and an overflow pipe, of a support secured to said overflow pipe, a tiltable valve movable to and from said valve seat, a stem carried by said valve adapted to engage said support to hold the valve away from said valve seat when the valve is tilted, and a float by which said valve is tilted to place said stem in engagement with said support.

2. The combination with the valve seat of a flush tank outlet, of a support located. entirely outside of said outlet, a tiltable valve movable to and from said valve seat, a stem extending upwardly from said valve and having a shoulder adapted to engage said support to hold the valve away from said valve seat when the valve is tilted, and a float by which said valve is tilted to place said stem in engagement with said support.

3. The combination with a flush tank having an outlet provided with a valve seat and an overflow pipe, of a support secured to said overflow pipe, said support comprising a portion clamped to said overflow pipe and a portion adjustably attached to the first mentioned portion, a tiltable valve movable to and from said valve seat, a stem carried by said valve and slidably attached to said adjustable portion of said support, said stem being provided with a shoulder adapted to engage said support to hold the valve away from said valve seat when the valve is tilted, and a float by which said valve is tilted to place said shoulder in engagement with said support.

4. The combination with a flush tank having an outlet provided with a valve seat and an overflow pipe of a support secured to said overflow pipe, said support comprising a portion clamped to said overflow pipe and a bifurcated portion adjustably attached to the first mentioned portion, a tiltable valve movable to and from said valve seat, a stem carried by said valve and provided with a.

slot, said stem being arranged between the legs of said bifurcated portion of said support, a member extended through said legs and through said slot to slidably secure said stem to said support, said stem being provided with a shoulder adapted to engage said support to hold the valve away from said valve seat when the valve is tilted, and a float by which said valve is tilted to place said shoulder in engagement with said support.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I hereunto afiix my signature.

ALLEN R. GILMORE. 

